About
The programme for building Kocatepe Mosque began with a decision taken in 1944, and the project of architects Hüsrev Tayla and Fatin Uluengin was started in 1967. The project, which was transferred to the Turkish Religious Foundation in 1981, was completed and the mosque was opened on 28 August 1987 by Turgut Özal, the prime minister of the time. Kocatepe Mosque was built as a two-storey mosque on a high platform; it houses a conference hall, a library, a mortuary, a carpark, a big trade centre and administrative quarters in the lower parts. The pillars in the mosque and the walls of the gathering areas are covered with Konya travertines and and the accessories of the stairs, the balconies and railings of the prayer hall are built from Afyon marble. Numerous artists have worked on the mosque’s decorative inscriptions. There is a big chandelier in the main hall.